President Gjorge Ivanov and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski attended the event — which involved pushing a large "start" button — at the site of the project in the Aerodrom area, 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) east of the city center.

The facilities will be built by Turkish construction and investment group Cevahir Holding. The Turkish developers said the 130-meter (425-foot) towers will house a total of some 5,000 people and the project will also include a shopping mall when finished in three years.

Landlocked Macedonia has struggled to attract foreign investment since gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and it remains saddled by high unemployment, at around 30 percent.